Werewolves and Wranglers

by Kristen Banet

  “Oh, like I handled all our paperwork for this?” Tobias smiled at her. She sighed, nodding. “Well then, it’s a fine idea. I’ll run the store front; you’ll work behind the scenes with me, making all of our wares. We’ll use the saloon. It’s a popular spot in town anyway, and it’s not a far walk from the General Store.”

  “It’ll also show Forrest we never needed him,” she muttered coldly. “That piece of shit.”

  “I never liked him either,” Tobias agreed. “So…want to get started today?”

  “Of course.” She gestured to a wall of ingredients. “Do we want to make something we know or try for something new?”

  “Something we know. We’ll need to find our rhythm again.”

  That was the second time today someone had said something like that. “Fine, something we know. With the werewolves having issues, maybe we’ll make a few for them.”

  “Good idea.” Tobias began to pull the wolfsbane down from the shelves. She grabbed the catnip. It was the combination of those two ingredients that made it work for either shifter.

  And silently, they fell back into the old habits, stepping around each other effortlessly, not minding the other’s presence. Tobias was back, and it seemed like nothing had changed, not yet anyway. They were never talkative when they worked together, preferring to stay focused on the quiet work of potion-making. Any sort of mistakes in the ingredients or how many times they stirred or how long it stewed could ruin it. She had one massive cauldron in the middle of the shed and they worked around it for the most part, while weaving between a few of her smaller ones, each remembering what part of the potion was theirs. She was the ingredient girl, while he did heavy stirring as the potion grew thick.

  When it needed to stew for an hour, they jumped straight into potions that helped with some supernatural illnesses. As winter was coming, the town would want to stock up. The shifters tended to get very strange, animal-like illnesses. The vampires grew lethargic with the cold and wanted energy boosters. That was because the town saw less business in the winter and their food supply was smaller. Madam would occasionally make a deal with one of the other factions to have some supply, but most supernaturals weren’t willing to give up their blood, so it was hard.

  It was all stuff she had always considered when she and Tobias got into the shed and started making potions together. It was stuff she needed to know and account for as sheriff now as well. If the vampires were hungry, they could get snappy. It was something to watch out for.

  Maybe I really can do both.

  She wanted it, honestly. She stopped, done adding ingredients to their last potion batch, and watched him. She loved the way he moved, his lean form all tight muscle. He was concentrating on the work in front of him, stirring at the perfect speed. She would have spelled it, but the magic from her doing that could mess up the potion.

  He looked up and smiled at one point. Her heart skipped a traitorous beat. “What are you looking at?” he asked softly, stirring slowly.

  “Nothing. Missed you.” It was the damn truth. “I feel bad for lying to you in Fort Lackey. By then, I had just banished a demon, you know.”

  “I figured, as I’ve now mostly caught up on everything. It’s okay. You do what you need to do to grieve, Addy. You’re alive, safe, and competent at magic. I’m not worried about your safety.” He was still staring at her, and she just wanted to fall into those hazel eyes. She wanted a damned hug from her best friend, feelings be damned.

  “Are you almost done?” she inquired. “I haven’t been counting.”

  “Three more rotations,” he said, chuckling. “You never count unless you’re the one stirring, and most of the time, you forget to count then.”

  “Very true,” she agreed, laughing softly. She counted those three rotations. The moment his hands were off the giant wooden stick they used, she crossed her small workshed and wrapped her arms around his waist, holding tightly. “Gods, I missed you, Tobias.”

  His strong arms held her. She felt his chin touch the top of her head. “I missed you, too. More than you’ll ever know.”

  She ignored the implications of that statement, just letting herself hold her best friend. Hard chest, strong arms, comfortable. More her size than someone like Valen. She could stay there forever.

  Oh, why am I so attracted to you, Tobias? Why, why, why…She couldn’t resist nuzzling her face into his chest like she used to when she just wanted the comfort of her friend. His hands rubbed slowly on her back, moving lower, but never too low.

  She didn’t miss how he pulled away first and turned away. “Well, these just need to sit for a bit.” She gestured to the cauldrons. Silence fell over them, and she was at a loss at how to get a good conversation going.

  “So…those two, huh?” Tobias finally asked as they hit midafternoon.

  “Those two?” She raised an eyebrow.

  “The Nephilim and the hellhound. Easton and Remy.” He seemed uncomfortable with the topic almost immediately, and he was the one who brought it up. “You’re, uh…”

  “Sleeping with them,” she said, nodding. “Yeah. It’s really casual, Tobias.” Unlike anything I will ever have with you. You’re going to be anything but casual, if it ever happens.

  “I mean, I think maybe I should get to know them. If they’re going to be in your life, you should tell me more about them. Valen says they’re having a hard time finding their place in town.”

  She sighed. That made sense. Tobias was a friendly man. “They are. They normally only talk to people if the job requires it. They spend most of their time here at home or at the office. The only other place they go is the saloon. I can get them to run errands, but I bet the only reason they talk to anyone but me and Valen is because they absolutely have to.”

  “Maybe…I can help with the sheriff stuff. I know a lot about the townspeople, and…I can just help them out.”

  “You want to help us? You realize I can only pay two deputies at a time, right?”

  “I don’t want to be a deputy.” Tobias ran a hand over his auburn hair. “I just want to hang around, really.”

  “You’re more than welcome to call on me or them at any time. They do need more friends.” She reached out and patted his arm. “Thank you for offering the friendship. I’ll make sure they know when they get home that you offered it.”

  “Of course.” He reached with his other hand and grabbed hers before she pulled it away. “There’s something else I wanted to talk to you about.”

  Her heart thumped. Oh, not right now Tobias. You just got back. I’m not ready for this. “What is it?”

  “Would you mind if I come by unannounced to visit William?”

  Her heart sank at that. “Of course,” she whispered. “Of course, Tobias. You can always come visit William.” She knew the ghost of her dearly departed wouldn’t show up for him. She knew the aching pain still left over from his death, even though she did get to talk to him. She couldn’t hold him. He was gone, yet not gone. Ghost or not, he was still very dead, and to everyone else, he wasn’t around at all.

  She knew what Tobias was feeling. Better than most.

  “Thank you.” He let her go and stepped away. “I’m going to…uh.”

  “Go,” she ordered softly. “Go say hello to him.”

  “Thank you. These will be a little while longer, and I’m here, and he’s…”

  “Always on your mind? I know. I look out at that grave nearly every night from my window.”

  He just nodded and walked out, leaving her with the potions.

  With a heavy, sad sigh, she got started doing inventory over their ingredients. It kept her hands and mind busy instead of wondering what Tobias would tell William—William, who would hear it all, but probably not tell her.

  Tobias wasn’t back when the potions needed to come off the heat. She glanced out, seeing him still meditating at the grave. Shamans. She couldn’t hate on it, even though she wanted to go grab his collar and drag him back to work. Meditation ha
d its uses, and he obviously needed to do whatever he was doing. She knew he had never visited the grave while she was grieving. No one had, really.

  She was bottling the finished potions when he finally came back in.

  “I’m sorry about that,” he said softly. “I didn’t think I would go so deep into myself.”

  “All magic users need to every so often. I recently was able to meditate my magic back. You would have been proud of me.”

  “If you really did, then I am. Well, you’ve bottled most of these, and it’s getting late on your day off. You should be off enjoying the time away from work, not here doing all of this. Why don’t you let me finish and I’ll take them down to the saloon and get everything set up?”

  “That works for me!” She smiled, thumping his chest. “Have fun.”

  He grabbed her hand on his chest again and rubbed his thumb over the palm. “It’s good to be back and doing this with you, Adalyn. I’ve missed it dearly.”

  She swallowed as his pretty eyes trapped hers. She was running scared from his feelings, and she knew it. She knew she wasn’t ready for whatever emotion was sitting in those eyes, but damn were they gorgeous. She said the only thing she could. “I missed it too.”

  With that, he let her go and she walked out, wondering how she had become cursed with a gorgeous man that was more complicated than she was ready for. Thank the gods for Remy and Easton, because Tobias might be the death of me. Why do I have to be so attracted to him? Why is he so blasted good to look at?

  She went inside her house, fully intending on sinking into her tub and hiding from her gorgeous best friend out in the shed.

  When she finally sank into the tub, she groaned with a terrible realization, remembering her time just holding him.

  I think I like him back.

  7

  Easton

  Easton waited patiently for Lawrence, the werewolf Alpha, to acknowledge him. He could easily defeat the beast, but he didn’t want to. He wanted to be a normal member of Redstone, not the deputy dictator that could throw them all around at a whim to get what he wanted.

  So I’ll let Lawrence disrespect me. Fine. Eventually, he’ll need to talk to me.

  The werewolf Alpha was talking to a female about something. She was flirting with him. Easton had no idea if the Alpha was married or had any lovers, but he hadn’t thought a lower-ranking female of the pack would be allowed to behave the way she was. Her hand ran over his chest and Lawrence growled.

  “Come back later,” the Alpha told her. The woman’s giggle was something else. The moment she was gone, Lawrence sighed heavily. “Women.”

  “I thought most mortal men enjoyed women hanging all over them?” Easton crossed his legs. He sat across from the Alpha’s desk, watching the massive man shift uncomfortably.

  “Werewolves. We’re more communal in our physical affections. Children are so rare that it’s not like anyone’s at risk of getting pregnant with the wrong man’s child. If a female gets pregnant, no one cares who the dad is. We’re just happy to have a baby around.” The Alpha snorted. “But being Alpha, all the females try to crawl into my bed, ignoring the more permanent and dominant females I enjoy on occasion. She’ll come back, and it’s not going to be for what she wanted. It’s going to be a talk about behavior in front of those from outside the Pack.”

  “Hm. That’s kind of you. Sending her away without embarrassing her with me here.”

  “No. She’s going to realize she embarrassed herself well enough without me getting mad at her in front of you.” Lawrence waved a hand, dismissing the topic. “So, you’re here about the humans.”

  “You’re in the middle of a range war, Lawrence. Today is Adalyn’s day off, so I’m here gathering information about it. If we can assist, I want to know everything.”

  “Where’s the hound?”

  “He’s wandering the outskirts of your property, hoping to catch a scent.” Hound. That was annoying. Easton teased his friend, but he didn’t appreciate anyone else talking about the man as if he were a dog.

  “All of them are days old. He won’t find anything useful.” Lawrence dismissed Remy with that. It actually irked Easton. He trusted Remy with his life. No one dismissed Remington Coldwell, not in front of Easton.

  “You don’t know hellhounds, then.” Easton smiled patiently, not giving away the ball of rage he was feeling. “Don’t underestimate my ‘hound.’ He’s a tough shit and can track anything.”

  “So it’s not just his form. He has their powers.” Now the Alpha seemed intrigued.

  “He does. So, if he picks any of them up and the scent is good enough, he’ll find them. If there’s a reason to go find them.” Easton hoped it would come in handy. It was why he sent him out there instead of bringing him into the office for a stuffy meeting.

  “You are an odd pair, I must admit. We’re used to the more standard things around these parts. But that’s a different discussion, isn’t it? You want to know more about these humans. Well, I told Adalyn pretty much all of it, so there’s not much to say. We just need to keep our eyes out for more trouble.”

  “Last night, she started researching ways to magically block off your land. I think she’s running into trouble because there’s specifics that are hard to account for.” Easton wanted the Alpha to know they were trying to help, even if he didn’t think it was necessary. “I continued reading through the night and took some notes for her that might help.” Which he’d done for a variety of reasons. For one, he was a deputy now. What an odd change it was from being a bounty hunter. Deputy wasn’t too much different, thankfully. He’d never thought he would like Redstone, or rather, the witch he found in it, though. Second, it would just help her and the Alpha in the end. That would help him and Remy in the long run to find themselves real members of the town—respected ones at that. Not the strange bounty hunters many still looked at them as.

  Third, he had just wanted to do something nice for her. He knew very little about her type of magic. He knew very little about witch and warlock magic in general, but he could do that for her. Tobias had him on edge. He knew that the man wanted Adalyn. He could see it. He could feel it. Much like Maxwell, there was a pining edge to the way he looked at her. There was a desperate tone in the way he talked to her and about her. Unlike Maxwell, he was a respected friend and on good terms with her. That made the shaman a threat.

  It made Easton feel very vulnerable. He liked the arrangement he had with her and Remy. Finally, they had a woman who accepted them both in her bed and not just for one insane night. Something with a shred of permanency.

  He’s been back for a day and he’s making me feel very human. I don’t like it.

  “But thank you for that,” Lawrence said. Easton wanted to curse, realizing he missed something that Lawrence had been saying. He’d forgotten that Lawrence was even in the room. It was unlike him to get sucked into his own head while others were around. He wasn’t one to zone out of a conversation. “Are you done with me?”

  “I am, thank you.” Easton was still mentally cursing himself as he stood up and reached out. Lawrence respectfully shook his hand and led him out.

  Once outside, he whistled. “Remy, let’s go. I’m done here.”

  It took a few minutes, but Easton saw the hellhound running up through a few wolves trying to work. One even screamed as he raced past them, fiery paws and glowing horns making his almost-wolf form seem very demonic. Hellhounds weren’t dogs. They were the demonic version of wolves, really. Pack hunters, normally, they were the stuff of nightmares, with external bone ribs that protected them from other attackers.

  Remy shifted back into his human form before he was close enough to the horses to spook them. While they were trained to handle the hellhound, they weren’t perfect. At full speed, Remy could easily jump them and take them to the ground. There was no reason to scare them unnecessarily, something Easton had imparted on the shifter early in their friendship.

  “I got nothing,” Remy said immed
iately. “Recent rains and the amount of others treading the ground—I can’t get between the scents to find one in particular. I just wish I’d made sure to really register their scents yesterday. Stupid of me to forget.”

  “It’s fine.” Easton swung up onto his horse. “Let’s go. We’ve got more of these damned visits to make today.”

  “We do, don’t we? You know, I like this. This feels like when we would try to get research on our targets. Just wandering around and talking to people.”

  “Huh. It does, doesn’t it?” Easton shrugged. He hadn’t considered that. He reminded himself that it wasn’t much of a different job.

  “So, which one do we want to handle next? The shifters or the werecats?”

  “The werecats. Felicity isn’t wrapped up in our lover’s family drama.” Easton hadn’t missed how David was her former father-in-law or that the little female wolf was once her sister-in-law. That made the entire thing too close to home. He was even uncomfortable doing the follow-up today, but it was better than forcing Adalyn to. She could be seen as biased in the matter. Easton wasn’t used to family drama of that nature, but he could manage it for her.

  For her. I’m doing a lot for her, recently. The thought made him smile a little. She’s done a lot for us, though. I guess I’m trying to pay her back.

  They rode back into town and to the bank, where most of the werecats spent their days. There were only about a dozen of the felines. They were faster and stronger than werewolves. Easton figured the small Pride of them could easily handle the entire werewolf pack, which was working toward forty members, and fast. They had more accidents than the cats, those wolves.